Wheel and axle assembly



Feb. 17. 1953 P. s. MOCALLEN ET AL 2,628,859

WHEEL AND AXLE ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 24, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 L Gamm Patented Feb. 17, 1 953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ware Original application February 24,1945; Serial No.

579,546. Divided and this application September, 24,1947, Serial No. 775,850

2 Claims. (01. 295-49) i pplication is a division of our prior applicati'on for Wheel and Axle Assemblies, filed February 24, 1945, Serial No. 579,546, now abandoned.

This invention relatesto an improvement in wheel and axle assemblies, particularly of the character of stub axles mounted in bearin boxes, such as are used in some types of mine cars. i

In stub axle assemblies used, her'ebefore, the outward thrust of the axle has'been taken generally by the pressure of the axle against the inner wall of the pedestal box that encloses the outer end of the axle, which pedestal box is fastened to the longitudinal. side $111 that extends alongthecar outside of the. wheel. When the outward thrust is taken bythe'ipedestal box in this manner, the' nut thatconfines'the wheel on the axle is subjected to the thrust of the Wheel and imposes the'thrus't in' turnon the threads of the axle. This pressure on the threads has had a tendency to loosen the threads and cause Wear.

One object of this'invention is to prevent this endwise thrust of the'wheel from being imposed on the threads and to cause-it to be directed against the pedestal box'itself, directly from the v nut.

This is accomplished'by locating the end of the nut closer to the pedestal box than the outer end of the, axle to the adjacent inner wall of the pedestal box that encloses said outer end of the axle. Thus, the outward pressure; against the wheel that would impose an endwise thrust thereto, would cause engagement of the nut against the face of the pedestal box before the end of the axle engages theinner face of the pedestal box, whereby the thrust of the wheel would be transmitted through the nut directly to the pedestal box and would not impose endwise thrust on the threads. The pressure of the wheel on the nut in an'outward direction is limited to the force necessary to move the axle sufliciently to carry the nut against the hub of the pedestal box. As soon as the hub and. nut contact each other, any further pressure-tending to force the wheel in an outward directionwould impose a pressure on the pedestal box rather than on the threads of the nut and axle.

The nut usually employed for confining the Wheel on the axle, ordinarily is exposed to the mine water which is usuallyyery acid. Since the nut is castellated ordinarily, the,water has an opportunity to enter the threads between the nut and the axle.- This acid water causes the threads to'be rapidly eaten by the acid; causing the axle and the nutto be unfit for service;

2 Afurther object of this invention is to impro the construction of the wheel and axle assembly by protecting the threadsjagainst the entrance of mine water theretdwithout, however, closing the end of thewheel hub, and thus leaving the nut exposedfor access in securing. the'hub on the axle.

13! against the entrance of the; acid water from I 1;

themine thereto? Still another object ofthe'invention is to provide an" eiiective packing; abo the-periphery of the nut that willpreventrfth "tide of mine water to the inner side] he ut between the nut and the'wheel' hub. This ismade possible by utilizing a packing at the inner side of the nut between the latter and the hub, which packing may be combined with'labyrinthgioovesin the periphery of the nut for preventing effectively the entrance of water'andfor'eign substances between thejnutandthefhubi The, preferred" embodiment of the invention is'illus'trated in the accompanying drawings in whieh': i

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through the:v

wheel assembly showingthe axle in elevation, A

' Fig. 2 is a cross section through the axle on the line 22 ofFfig. 1, and showing a portion of the wheel inelevation} Fig. 3 is a similar view on the line 33 of Fig. 1, showin'g'the'inner pedestal box in elevation;

and

Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line 4 4 of Fig; 1, showing the outer pedestal box.

Referring toFig; l, the stub axle is designated generally by" the'n'ui'neral I The axle I has an enlarged inner end 2 and a reduced outer'end 3. A collar 4 surrounds thejaxle adjacent the inner end thereof and is fixed 'on' the axle.

The wheel is designated generally at 5', having a hub 6 surrounding the axle I. The hub 6 is journa led on ball bearings 1 and 8 on the axle, the axle races or which ball bearings are separated by a sleeve 9. The'hubrace of the bearings 8 is freefloating in the hub, while the hub race of the bearings I abuts againsta shoulder l0 Whereit isconfined by a ring I l. The ring I I is in turn held in place by a pressure cap 12 secured by adjustable bolts l3-thatextend through the web or spokesof the wheel; The wheel construction and the manner in which it is journaled on the axle in sofar as these aredes'cribed This object is accomplished, m n -pier; v a

, 3 above, are substantially the same as set forth in the patent to Perry E. Moore, No. 2,112,859, granted April 5, 1938.

The wheel is confined on the axle by a nut I4 which is telescoped into the outer end of the hub 6, which hub is open at the outer side of the wheel. The nut I4 is threaded onto threads I5 on the intermediate portion of the axle I, inwardly of the end portion 3 of said axle. The nut is castellated at its outer face at I4 and is confined against turning on the threads I5 by means of a split cotter pin I6, extending through an opening in the axle I. Between the intermediate portion of the axle I and the reduced outer end 3 is a small shoulder H, where the threads I5 terminate, said threads being formed on the slightly enlarged intermediate portion of the axle. A packing ring I8 surrounds the end portion of the axle 3 against the shoulder I'I, outwardly of the threads I5. This packing ring preferably is a felt washer which is seated in an annular groove I9 formed in the inner side of the nut I4 at the outer face of the body portion of the nut. The packing ring I8 is held in place by a washer 20, preferably of steel or hard metal, which is interposed between the packing ring and the cotter pin I6.

The felt packing ring is thus confined by the cotter pin and washer between the inner portion of the nut and the periphery of the axle, overlapping the outer end of the threads I5. Since the nut, the washer, the cotter pin, the felt and the axle all move together during any slight rotation that may take place, there is no tendency for the felt to be worn by friction. Therefore, it will continue to protect the screw connection between the nut and the axle against the entrance of the acid mine water thereto, thu greatly prolonging the period of service of the axle and nut before replacement may be necessary.

The nut I4 is separated from the hub race of the bearings 8 by a washer 2I. Adjacent the washer 2|, is an annular groove 22 in the peripheral face of the nut I4 at the inner side thereof, with a packing ring 23 seated in said groove 22 between the nut and the adjacent face of the washer 2 I. This packing ring 23 is formed preferably of a felt washer, filling the space between the groove 22 and the inner face of the wheel hub 6. The periphery of the nut I4 is formed also with labyrinth grooves 24 between the felt washer 23 and the outer end of the hub. The felt packing 23 is fixed to the axle and nut I4, to which the washer 2I that also confines the felt packing, is likewise fixed. Thus movement relative to this felt washer would take place only at the periphery of the latter where it bears against the rotating inner face of the hub 6. Coacting with the labyrinth grooves 24, the felt washer will thus contribute materially in preventing the entrance of water or other foreign substance into the wheel hub to the inner side of the nut, as well as to confine lubricant in the chamber in the hub.

At the outer side of the wheel, the reduced end 3 of the axle is mounted loosely and slidably in a pedestal box 21, capable of endwise movement relative thereto. The pedestal box 21 is in the form of a clamp that embraces the end portion 3 loosely and is detachably secured thereon by bolts 28. The outer end of the pedestal box 21 abuts against the inner face 30 of a. sill 29 which is preferably welded thereto, which inner face of the sill extends over the open outer end of the pedestal box and forms an inner wall therefor,

4 extending over the extreme outer end of the axle but normally spaced therefrom as shown in Fig. 1. The sill 29 is in the form of an angle bar, the upper flange of which is separated from the pedestal box 21 by a filler 21.

The inner face of the hub of the pedestal box is designated 3| and is spaced from the outer end of the nut I4, but closer to the end of the nut than is the wall 30 to the end of the axle. Thus the clearance between the nut and the inner end of the bearing box is less than the clearance between the outer end of the axle and the adjacent vertical wall enclosing the axle. Therefore, outward pressure against the wheel that would tend to impose axial thrust thereto in an outward direction, would be taken by the face 3! on the hub of the pedestal box, rather than through the threads I5 and the axle to the wall 30 at the outer end of the axle.

The pressure on the nut imposed by outward movement of the wheel, is thus limited to the force required to move the axle and force the nut against the hub of the pedestal box at the face 3|. As soon as these elements move into engagement, any further pressure tending to force the wheel in an outward direction will be transmitted by the nut to the pedestal box. This will not impose continuing thrust on the threads I5 between the nut and axle, which might otherwise cause wear on the threads and loosening the nut.

At the inner end of the axle, the axle portion 2 is mounted in a pedestal box 32 which surrounds the axle portion. The pedestal box 32 extends over the top of the axle and is confined in place by a bolt 33 extending through the ends thereof. A lug 34 is welded to the bottom of the axle portion 2, and is received between the sides of the axle box 32, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to regulate the rotation of the axle with respect to the pedestal box 32. As shown, the ends of the lug 34 are very slightly spaced from the adjacent sides of the pedestal box 32, thus permitting a slight amount of rotary motion of the axle relative thereto. The pedestal box 32 supports thereon the inner sill 35 which closes the outer end of the pedestal box and from the inner face of which the adjacent end of the axle is spaced.

The inward thrust of the wheel i taken by the collar 4 and the pedestal box 32. The lug 34, of course, moves with the axle, and none of the end thrust of the wheel is taken on this lug. However, the lug 34 prevents excessive rotation of the axle relative to the pedestal box.

The features herein set forth materially improve the construction of the wheel and axle assembly, the operation thereof, and prolong substantially the period of use of these before replacements are necessary.

The combination of axle, wheel and journal box are claimed in our application, Serial No. 579,546, filed February 24, 1945, now abandoned.

We claim:

1. In a wheel and axle assembly including a stub axle, a wheel having a hub journaled on the axle, said hub having an open outer end, a nut at said outer end of the hub and arranged to confine the wheel on the axle, means forming a threaded connection between the nut and the axle, a cotter pin extending into the axle at the outer side of the nut for confining the nut relative to the axle, said nut having a groove in the inner wall thereof adjacent the outer face of the nut and arranged at the outer end of the threaded connection, a felt packing ring seated in said groove between the nut and axle and arranged to prevent the entrance of water to the threaded connection, and a washer interposed between the felt packing and the cotter pin.

2. In a wheel and axle assembly including a stub axle, a nut to confine the wheel on the axle, means forming a threaded connection between the nut and the axle, a cotter pin extending into the axle at the outer side of the nut for confining the nut relative to the axle, said nut having a groove in the inner wall thereof adjacent the outer face of the nut and arranged at the outer end of the threaded connection, a felt packing ring seated in said groove between the nut and axle and arranged to prevent the entrance of water to th threaded connection, and a washer 6 interposed between the felt packing and the cotter pin.

PERRY S. MCCALLEN. HARRY W. JONES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,292,197 Williams Jan. 21, 1919 1,574,799 Dierks Mar. 2, 1926 1,708,608 Edmunds Apr. 9, 1929 1,946,619 Furman Feb. 13, 1934 2,348,308 Richards May 9, 1944 2,360,274 Rapp Oct. 10, 1944 

